From February 20-23, in cooperation with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and the German Shipbuilding and Ocean Industries Assocation (VSM), the German Indonesian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (EKONID) organized a 4-day event to assist actors from the German maritime industry to explore market possibilities in Indonesia.

Consisting of a day-long conference, B2B meetings between participants from the two nations, as well as site visits in Surabaya in East Java, the event hosted more than 120 participants representing dozens of Indonesian and German companies from various sectors within the maritime industry.

The event was also held to promote the German Maritime Export Initiative (GeMaX), which is a tool formed by German design companies, ship machinery manufacturers, equipment suppliers, shipyards and the KFW-IPEX Bank to provide both maritime equipment and long-term project financing for shipbuilding and offshore projects.

Conference

Mr. Jan Rönnfeld, Managing Director of EKONID, welcomed the participants during the first day of the event, in which the groups were brought closer to one another in a conference held under the banner “German-Indonesian Forum on Shipbuilding and Maritime Technology Solutions” at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Jakarta.

In opening the conference, Mr. Rönnfeld was also joined by Mr. Hendrik Barkeling, the Deputy Head of Mission of the German Embassy in Jakarta; Mr. Arif Havas Oegroseno, Deputy Minister of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Resources of Indonesia; Ms. Ariane Kiesow, a representative of the BMWi; and Mr. Eddy Kurniawan Logam, Chairman of the Indonesian Shipbuilding and Offshore Assocation (IPERINDO).

Each speaker spoke at length about the business climate of the German and Indonesian maritime industry, as well as the historical business relations between Indonesia and Germany from their respective outlooks.

Mr. Oegroseno stresses the important of the maritime sector for Indonesia, citing the country’s geographical profile, in which two-thirds of its surface is made up of the sea, as well as the country’s dream focus of becoming the world’s maritime axis.

On the other hand, Mr. Logam poses the challenge more directly. “Indonesia, the largest archipelago in the world, with its stable economic condition, really wants to develop its maritime sector. But it cannot do so without the help of other countries. So the question now is, who wants to start first?”he quipped.

Throughout the conference, participants were allowed to engage and network with potential business partners and schedule individual B2B meetings. Participants were also afforded the opportunity at a reception held at the German Embassy in Jakarta later that evening.

The following days comprised of more B2B meetings as well as site visits to Surabaya in East Java – the center of much of the activities of the Indonesian maritime sector. During this trip, the business delegation had the opportunity to introduce their companies via a technical seminar on maritime solutions. Furthermore, the delegation also had the chance to visit PT PAL Indonesia, the Indonesian state-owned shipyard, as well as PT Dumas Tanjung Perak, a well-known private shipyard that is currently run by a German alumnus.

The responses from the participants of the event were positive. Lili Wasitova, a representative from the German Committee of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the maritime conference held on the first day of the program was very useful. “Because it would have been otherwise very difficult for local companies to meet up face-to-face with German companies and their representatives who are also working in the same field. This is very beneficial for all its participants,” she added.

Thorsten Wessels, Sales Manager for d-i davit international-hische GmbH, a company that focuses on providing life-saving equipments, also commended the added perspective of the Indonesian maritime sector, saying that Indonesia is a very interesting market. He further hoped that Indonesia would be able to grow its shipbuilding sector further so that he could see more Indonesian ships equipped with his company’s life-saving products. “There’s definitely potential here,” he said.